To satisfy consumer desire for more portable electronic devices, semiconductor manufacturers desire to incorporate as many devices as possible at the integrated circuit level to reduce the amount of circuit board area needed. It is not often possible to incorporate certain devices such as high power resistors, large capacitors, or large inductors into an integrated circuit. Similarly, there is often not enough space within an integrated circuit package due to the large number of bond wires and traces that route signals to and from the integrated circuit.
Devices that cannot be incorporated into the integrated circuit and/or the integrated circuit package are attached to a circuit board, thereby consuming valuable circuit board area and increasing the total cost of manufacturing, for example, a portable electronic device incorporating the integrated circuit(s) and the circuit board.
To clarify multiple layers and regions, the thicknesses of the layers are enlarged in the drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the same or like parts. As used in this patent, stating that any part (e.g., a layer, film, area, or plate) is in any way positioned on (e.g., positioned on, located on, disposed on, or formed on, etc.) another part, means that the referenced part is either in contact with the other part, or that the referenced part is over the other part with one or more intermediate part(s) located therebetween. Stating that any part is in contact with another part means that there is no intermediate part between the two parts.